Research in the Conservation Science Group centres around two broad questions:

• What are the key threats to wild nature?
• What are the main actions needed to reverse its decline?

We address these questions by tackling a wide range of issues - from autecological studies of threatened species and analyses of drivers of change, to quantifying the costs and benefits of conservation. In all these areas we try to work closely with conservation practitioners to ensure both that our research is relevant, and that management decisions are underpinned by the best science available.

This emphasis on collaboration is reflected in several members of the group being on secondment (RSPB, World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Institute of Zoology and World Bank) and in our active involvement in the Cambridge Conservation Forum, launched in 2000 to build links between Cambridge's universities and the many leading conservation agencies located nearby. The Department of Zoology is also a founder member of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative.

To further encourage the development of networks drawing young conservation scientists and practitioners together, we run an annual Student Conference on Conservation Science, held in March each year.